Blue Flames
by Old Soldier
Summary: A terror...a terror that has no name...a terror that must not be named.  Sent through the cable vortex to another universe beset by a hate from old times, Team Possible and Shego must thwart this ancient evil before returning home to face it again.


**Blue Flames**

_This story arc begins during the time frame of __**"Monkey Fist Strikes".**_

_This is a Kim Possible / Forgotten Realms crossover. This story is basically the prequel to "Rod of Creation" which is on hiatus until "Blue Flames" 'catches' up._

_If you saw it on Kim Possible it belongs to Disney; if it looks like it came out of a 'Wizards of the Coast' publication, it probably did. The rest is all my fault._

_I do not write for adulation…care I not for remuneration…I just write for inspiration._

* * *

**Ancient Texts and Shadows**

During the mid 1980's, the British Museum displayed a collection of fragments of some ancient texts recovered from a dig in Tibet by an obscure British archaeological expedition about a century before. The following are short summaries of the contents of some of the least damaged scrolls of that collection.

~~~As commissioned by Chen, the Senior Loremaster of the Monkey Temple of the West Winds. Herein lays a brief accounting of our greatest inspiration, a fierce warrior with a gentle soul, the Ultimate Monkey Master Te Raun, bearer of that most regal weapon, the Lotus Blade; master and teacher of Monkey Kung Fu, that ultimate and most refined of all the fighting styles in all the realms~~~

~~~Uncounted ages ago the Ultimate Monkey Master, Te Raun walked out of a round portal seeming of dark silvery water within the courtyard of the Abbey of the Sleeping Lotus, wreathed in an aura of blue flames, a halo of sunlight about his head. Accompanying him was His Most Erudite, The Court Wizard Wei De, and five females of exotic beauty. These were his mate Qei Pi of ivory skin and mane of fire with their daughter Han, of soothing disposition, along with two concubines, Mau Ning the colour of chestnuts and knowing eyes, and Xi Gau with skin like unto green tea, eyes of emerald and flaming hands~~~

~~~It is a testimony to the beneficence of The Master that he imparted knowledge to his women so they would be useful in endeavours beyond child bearing and granted them nobility. Qei Pi was noted as a warrior so fiercesome that even demons despaired to do battle and yet to all the subjects she was caring and protective, cheerfully inspiring the masses to better their lives; recognizing his mate's harmony with the people The Master bequeathed to her the duties as governess of the all the lands and the people in it. Mau Ning was an oracle of talent, her eyes hinting she knew more of your secrets than you did without choosing to share them. Xi Gau was a dragon disciple and fierce fighter, able to throw emerald fire from her hands, her sharp tongue as effective as any talon against her enemies. Han's fighting skills rivalled those of her father, using them to protect the ailing and fight the purveyors of disease and destruction; it is believed she also was imbued with The Master's mystical power, allowing her to use the Lotus Blade. Her healing skills were so beyond compare that it was believed she could heal the land as well as man and beast. Considering the status and qualities of The Master's women the monks of the Abbey of the Sleeping Lotus felt it befitting to present them with honour names. For her inspirational leadership in showing the people the way to perfect themselves, Qei Pi was named, The Ivory Flame. Mostly noted for her exotically beautiful dusky skin and sable tresses, Mau Ning was titled, The Raven. Xi Gau chose to honour herself and became known as Her Emerald Radiance; it being common knowledge that vexing Her Emerald Radiance was often fraught with hazards, there was no dissension. Such was her reputation in the land, people equated the word healing with Han's name so that receiving treatment for an ailment was referred to as receiving The Han; it was felt, by the monks, an appropriate honour name and left unchanged~~~

~~~The Companions were quested by a being of even greater divinity to find and protect an ancient mystical artifact of great power crafted to contain an entity called …[_unable to translate_]…the Oblivion, also known as the Dark One, who was the font of destruction intent on destroying the very fabric of the multiverses into a vortex of entropy. The artifact was one of three pieces needed ~~~

~~~Soon after, the mutterings of the Dark One reached the ears of those weak willed mortals easily tempted by promises of power and glory. Building a dark temple in secret they worshipped the Oblivion, opening a link from it's realm to this one, allowing the arrival of one of its minion's, Yono the Destroyer. Upon its arrival, this realm was beset by hordes of demons intent on destroying the Master and his companions, descending from the sky through large black voids. It was said if a mortal dared look into these voids their soul would be shredded by overwhelming despair. Always accompanying the attackers was the ringing of a deep sounding bell, conveying a sense of ominous foreboding; let it be known that this not be confused with the peal of a mortal bell for the tolling of this evil gong brings immediate discord to the soul. The battle, between the demons and the heroes, was fiercesome to behold, especially so the wrath of The Han for the Destroyer embodied all that she abhorred, forcing the Yono in personal combat to retreat to the stony canyons where his dark temple hid; Her Emerald Radiance sacrificing her green fire in a large explosion of divine energy to seal the demon into his lair. Turning his magical blade into a mattock The Master sundered the stone floor of the canyon, causing the Dark Temple of the Yono to drop within the rift, upon which the The Han healed the stone, imprisoning the creature into the rock. Conjuring a great sandstorm, the Court Wizard, Wei De covered the canyon floors with magical sand imbued with several arcane wards and bonds to confine the Destroyer within its prison. With the evil minion indisposed all further demonic incursions ceased. Afterward, in recognition of her selfless act, The Master petitioned the Dodecagon, the ruling council of the Dodecagynian Cynosure, to restore the powers of Her Emerald Radiance~~~

~~~After a time of rest The Companions began their search for the ancient artifact; coordinating the search were The Raven, and The Wizard, sending the others to likely locations. Frustrated at their lack of success, The Raven retreated into a prolonged state of meditation and projected her thoughts across all the planes within the realm. To her surprise, an epiphany occurred to her; look for when the artefact is located, not where. The Wizard, in his brilliance, crafted a small idol in the likeness of a monkey holding cymbals, giving the bearer the ability to travel through time. Concerned with the possibility of The Master becoming lost in the time stream, The Wizard suggested a reserve of the Mystical Power be kept just in case. The Companions found wisdom in this and had four jade monkey idols crafted after which The Master imparted Mystical Monkey Power in each. To ensure only those of merit would receive the energy it was deemed the idols had to be aligned correctly, according to a text prepared by Wei De, before the candidate could be so enriched~~~

~~~The Master, accompanied by The Ivory Flame, The Raven, Her Emerald Radiance and The Han departed on the quest. Guessing the artifact was not found because it was too well hidden in the now the decision was made to travel to the future to resume the search. Happily, it turned out the artefact, described as an iron flask of power, was somehow discovered by artificers in the future, in a time full of magics The Companions could not begin to comprehend. Concluding distance measured in time was more effective in protecting the container the seekers deemed their quest discharged. Upon their return, to further safeguard the artefact, the head of the Time Monkey was removed from the body, the two parts secreted in isolated, hidden shrines spaced at opposite ends of the world. As was her wont, The Raven kept meticulous records of the exploits of the Mystical Companions for all to know. However, although the words transcribed were true and in themselves accurate, the oracle artfully cast subtle spells upon the texts such that those readers without pure intentions would misread the accounts and be misdirected in their endeavours~~~

~~~Alas, it is the doom of mortal men to forget~~~

~~~After many years of peace, prosperity and great learnings there came a student of the Abby of the Sleeping Lotus whose aspirations were greater than his wisdom could manage. He believed it more appropriate if the Ultimate Monkey Master actually adopted the likeness of a real monkey, a monkey king as it were. The idea turned down by The Companions, the misguided aspirant known at the abbey as Simi Yan chose to consort with an evil witch known as Eimi. Crafting for him a magical pendant called the Amulet of the Monkey King, Simi Yan transformed himself into a real monkey and became endowed with blasphemous powers. Stealing into the sacred chambers of the abbey the pretender used the jade monkey idols to imbue himself with the mystical power. Absconding with the Lotus Blade and several ancient texts, the poser set out to achieve his goal of becoming the Monkey King~~~

~~~As was to be expected, Simi Yan relied on the ancient texts for guidance; however he befell the subtle snares set by The Raven, misinterpreting the intent of what he perused. He failed to realize that, although those who acquire the Mystical Monkey Power may use the abilities of the Lotus Blade, it was merely a tool; only those of pure spirit could ascend, embrace and understand that divine gift known as the Mystical Monkey Power. As was predicted by the oracle, Simi Yan attempted to harness the power of the Yono; he was defeated in a similar manner as had been the first demon. Only this time it was Simi Yan interred within the dark temple; for having petitioned the demon for assistance, his defeat meant having to accept the path of the Yono meanwhile keeping the form of a monkey. The original demon, reduced to vapour, disappeared, presumably to return to its master, the Oblivion~~~

~~~The Master was despondent at the recent turn of events and even The Ivory Flame had difficulty raising his spirits. Adept at the arts of stealth and deception, Her Emerald Radiance suggested the treasures and knowledge of the Abbey of the Sleeping Lotus be dispersed so the violation of one location need not result in the loss of all in one swoop. Encouraged, the Master ordered Her Emerald Radiance and The Court Wizard to commit their talents to the endeavour~~~

~~~And it came to pass that a rather insightful disciple of The Raven, by the name of Brother Napata, brought forth a philosophy concerning The Han. He postulated that a being of The Han's abilities could only be sired by one imbued with the Mystical Power and even then only one could be sired at a time within the confines of a crystal sphere, these contemplations being confirmed by The Court Wizard. The current Han, raised with love, became a powerful healer; however, if raised with hate she would become a horrific creature of destruction. The only way of stopping an evil Han would be to destroy her; the only one who could do so would be her father. Having witnessed the return of the Ultimate Monkey Master in the future, The Raven felt it prudent to safeguard this information for his use~~~

~~~Over the next several years four new shrines, referred to as the Monkey Temples of the Winds were built by the Mystical Monkey Monks, one at each of the extreme cardinal points of the land, North, South, East, and West. Within each of these temples one of the jade monkey idols were kept, one fourth of each text was copied and assigned to a temple such that no one shrine had a complete copy of any one tome, The Court Wizard installing various traps and casting protective spells in each. Furthermore, three shrines were constructed to protect the knowledge of the true nature of The Han, the knowledge of which was encrypted; in honour of his insight they were named after Brother Napata. Finally, a new school was chosen to be built in a land eastward across the sea on a large island referred to as the Land of the Rising Sun. The site was atop a mountain called Yamanouchi, surrounded by valleys teeming with the monkeys of the Jigokudani and guarded by various enchantments such that, even if an outsider knew its location, the school could not be found unless escorted by a resident in good standing. There the Lotus Blade would be protected along with all the complete texts and magical artefacts, and new students trained. To further obfuscate the curious Te Raun changed his name to Toshimiru as befitting the language of the new land~~~

~~~Over the ages of the Mystical Monkey Dynasty, The Companions begat many generations of descendants; thus the bloodlines are established and, for now, dormant. We now simply wait their reawakening when the need is dire~~~.

When it was their time for translation it was discovered the ancient texts detailing the Lotus Blade and the Jade Monkey Idols were missing.

-III-

Just inside the door to his study, the Grandmaster of the Lotus, last Mystical Monkey Monk and head of the Yamanouchi School stood dumbfounded as his mind tried to register an event he never expected to see. Across the room in a small alcove, a gathering of ancient artefacts on ornate wooden shelves gave the impression of a shrine; the reliquary was, in fact, an arcane version of an early warning system.

What drew Sensei's rapt attention was the small top shelf upon which sat prominently a jade monkey idol, its eyes glowing with a bright emerald radiance, an orange-yellow aura emanating from the carving; the relaxed chatter of monkeys softly wafting around the room. Recovering his composure the elderly man proceeded directly to his left where a large collection of scrolls were stored in pigeon holes in the wall and ancient leather bound tomes stacked on shelves, the event finally registering in his mind, "_the Mystical Monkey Power has been awakened!_"

At the side board he reaches for a polished oak coffer the size of a desk drawer uttering, "Toshimiru." With a brief shimmer the coffer transforms into an ancient tome, the covers made of a strong, yet light, polished metal containing within pages of gold foil upon which were etched arcane writings. Perusing one of the pages confirmed Sensei's suspicions, "_the four jade monkey idols have been found and gathered together."_

As steeped in ancient traditions as Yamanouchi was there was still a realization that modern traditions could not be ignored; one of them being connected by computer to the world. As Hirotaka approached the computer room he heard a quiet titter coming from within. At this time of the evening there was only one other person other than himself not at study hall; peeking through the doorway he saw his beautiful and usually demure classmate, Yori, looking at a monitor. As he approached, the young woman acknowledged his arrival with a small smile; the young man examined the image on the computer screen, "Who are Laurel and Hardy?"

"Early twentieth century American comedians talented in the art of slapstick comedy," explained the ninja.

"What do you find so entertaining about early American cinematics?"

"I was at first drawn to the pratfalls; actions that appear to emulate injuries are choreographed to be harmless, the actors displaying some proficiency in simple acrobatics; however, despite some study I still have difficulty interpreting the humour, often misunderstanding the punch line. Nevertheless American style buffoonery seems to strike a chord that amuses me."

"This hardly seems a pastime worthy of a Master of the Lotus Petal."

Glancing sidelong at her partner, Yori deadpanned, "This from a similar master who watches American football to ogle tanned, busty American cheerleaders and, likes fast motorcycles and chewing gum."

Hirotaka's retort was interrupted by the sound of running feet; within moments a very young aspirant burst into the room breathing heavily with a panicked look on his face. As he bowed he attempted to speak, "I beg…your…pardons, Masters…"

"…Calm yourself first little one, the message will be easier to understand once your breathing steadies," comforted the young woman as she knelt before the little boy and took his hands.

After a short time the young student composed himself, "Sensei sends for both of you; you are to attend him in his library, he seemed most upset."

After dismissing the aspirant, the new Masters of the Lotus Petal hurried to meet the Grandmaster of the Lotus.

For the next day and a half, the Master of Yamanouchi assigned his most senior students to search the mundane avenues lore for archaeological references of anything pertaining to monkey related endeavours. Sensei himself projected his mind to all those sites once belonging to the Mystical Monkey Monks, dismayed to discover the four main temples were in ruins, their magical wards long deteriorated; he was relieved to see the Shrines of Napata and the Dark Temple of the Yono were intact and undisturbed. Most importantly, however, there were no indications of any mystical incursions from out-worldly sources.

The first break in the investigation came a week after the monkey idols were gathered when his two most accomplished adepts discovered references to a prominent archaeologist/adventurer by the name of Lord Montgomery Fiske, the pre-eminent world authority on all things simian with the added peculiarity of being the only individual outside Yamanouchi to be a full master of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar.

Having worked just as efficiently over the remainder of the week doing research and despite his normally cocky attitude Hirotaka was perfectly happy to let his female companion deliver the report. The usually demure Yori spoke with a confident voice to Sensei, "Lord Fiske gathered all the jade monkey idols by raiding the temples of the Mystical Monkey Monks. His actions are of some concern since it appears he is a believer in the Mystical Monkey Power. For the last acquisition, from the Temple of the South Winds in Cambodia, he engaged the assistance of a freelance hero by the name of Kim Possible who, quite adeptly, circumvented all the traps; however it does not appear she is a disciple of the mystical powers and we believe her participation was in good faith to further scientific exploration."

"Where are the idols now?" inquired the Elder.

"They are in England at Lord Fiske's castle," replied Hirotaka.

Before anything else could be said, the sound of scores of monkeys screeching loudly in anger and fear painfully assaulted the ears of those in the Master's study. Alarmed, the occupants spun to face the alcove; discovering the eyes of the jade monkey had turned black and the aura become a dull red streaked with black tendrils. Sensei exclaimed sternly, "A pretender… a false master has acquired the Mystical Monkey Power. It appears Lord Fiske is taking advantage of his knowledge. We must send operatives to keep watch; we must determine his intentions. If they are for ill we may be in for a difficult time."

As Sensei and his two senior adepts began making plans for an excursion to the English nobleman's castle the tone of the monkey chatter had suddenly changed from anguished and fearful to playful and relaxed. All looked towards the gathering of relics, eyes drawn to a long shelf upon which were six small monkey statues all with green eyes ablaze: the first, wisps of blue flames dancing across its jade surface, held a crystal sword and lantern each shining with a silver light; the second held a ruby; the third an azurite; the forth an emerald; the fifth a diamond; the last, an amethyst. As dire as some of the portents today were, this one made the Master of Yamanouchi uncharacteristically ebullient, "The bloodline of the Chosen One is awake; the bloodlines of the remainder of the Companions are nearby to him and ready to be awakened!"

As these portents were being discussed a few minutes later, an intensely blinding flash and deafening bang stunned the trio for several moments. Upon regaining their senses all saw the jade monkey on the top shelf cracked down the middle, the jewel eyes destroyed; Sensei was aghast, "The four monkey idols are destroyed, the repository of the Mystical Monkey Power is gone; the only power in this realm lies within the Chosen One and the Pretender. This is not good."

"Sensei, what is the meaning of that?" Yori asked as she pointed to an obsidian sphere, on the bottom shelf, wreathed in lurid black flames. As excited as the old man was a moment before, he was equally terrified at this new development, "_**Oblivion**_… My children, I am afraid we are all in dire peril. I need to journey to a far place for counsel on this matter."

-III-

Waking up just before dawn the next day, Sensei sat on his mat to engage in a particularly deep meditation until the sun arose, a meditation the likes of which he had not entered since the days of Toshimiru. Opening the doors to a long unused wardrobe he examined the contents of which he had not seen since his younger days. Instead of the usual caftan he dons clothing more suited to travelling, sturdy denim trousers and shirt cut loose to accommodate his ninja skills, sturdy hiking boots and a leather vest festooned with small pockets filled with small smooth stones, crystals and the tools of the thieves' trade. A sturdy leather utility belt, also equipped with storage and ammunition pouches had a harness hanging off the left side, strapped to the leg and holding a handful of crystalline wands; a similarly attached pouch hung on the right filled with more crystals, stones, small vials and more tools. His one concession to technology was replacing his old crossbow with an assault rifle to fill the need for a mundane ranged weapon since in some realms magic did not work at all; conversely, in some other realms technology did not function either. Reaching into the wardrobe the elderly master retrieves a carrying case with a shoulder strap; opening the case he removes a sextant made of mithril with gold and platinum filigree, adorned with a multitude of small crystals of various colours. Satisfied the device was in good order he replaced it into its case. The last item, a small oak box about six inches square, was picked up most reverently, within was a flat, palm-sized crystal made of blue aventurine. Gently removing the crystal resulted in a tingling sensation at the back of Sensei's mind accompanied by a golden warmth and sense of peace; a harmless translucent wisp of blue flame flowed delicately across the crystalline surface. The artefact immediately rose in the air to float about a foot away from the old man.

Looking fondly at the psicrystal, Sensei reminisced fondly of the time it had been given to him as a gift by The Han herself. It was rumoured the age of the Companions was measured in millennia however she seemed no older than in her thirties; yet he, a mere whelp of barely a hundred had somehow earned her favour. The Grandmaster of the Lotus chuckled quietly, "_I am almost two thousand and still I have a crush on an older woman."_

Bringing himself back in the moment the Master of Yamanouchi entered an adjoining room, a laboratory of sorts. Within, a collection of instruments and computers that would make a chemistry lab proud was intermingled with a functioning alchemical studio to make a wizard envious, the far end of the room sporting a stone door frame without a door. Proceeding to the outline on the wall, Sensei takes an inch long rod of onyx and inserts it into a slot on the doorframe; within moments what appears as a velvety black void manifests as a portal before him. The traveller steps through leaving the Prime Material Plane to enter the foreboding Plane of Shadow.

The Prime Material Plane; to the uninitiated it is the Earth, the solar system, and galaxies as we know it; to those with the knowledge it is merely a neighbour to a slew of several other universes, albeit in different dimensions. Some dimensions are the repositories of pure energies while others contain the basic building blocks of the multiverse. Still others are inhabited by all types of creatures from the most exalted beings radiating the utmost purity to the vilest abominations oozing corruption, and every moral and ethos in between; the whole encompassed within a collective referred to as a crystal sphere, there being twelve such spheres in all. It was possible to travel to the material plane of a completely different sphere via the coexisting shadows since all the Planes of Shadow met at a common point called the Dodecagynian Cynosure, Sensei's destination.

Stepping through the portal brought the Grandmaster onto a dilapidated stone staircase, not present in the material world, yet which descended along the outside of the main building of the school. The environment was delineated in stark blacks and whites, the sky being a black vault devoid of sun. Although he was still obviously on Mount Yamanouchi, looking northeast across the valley Sensei noted two of the hill tops were not there. An annoying feature of the Shadows was that although the broad picture mimicked the material world, sometimes the details might be different making mapping nearly impossible; on the other hand since the Plane of Shadow coexisted in the same space with the material one a person with the knowledge could travel around the Earth undetected as long as he stayed in the shadow realm. A villain with this ability would be difficult to capture. While ruminating on this the traveller proceeded directly to the bottom of the mountain. Despite the apparent lack of illumination the elder master could still make out details as if there were moonlight present.

At the bottom of the trail the traveller removed the sextant from its case, stroked the imbedded onyx crystal and placed the device to his eye. Scanning he found the portal he entered through then began searching for the gate he needed to travel to his destination. Nominally, the portal he needed was located where the local airport would be however, with the vexatious morphing the shadow lands were prone to, it was prudent to determine its direction quickly and proceed promptly. Caution had to be exercised since the lands in shadow harboured all manner of corrupted creatures, the vegetation slimy and unwholesome looking, yet strangely still edible; the water as viscous as black ichors was surprisingly adequate for drinking.

A few hours into his journey the Grandmaster was surprised to see the road he was using, although to call it a proper road required imagination, was running true with his destination. Hearing a commotion some distance to his right the elder ducks behind the hulk of a derelict car. A mental command directs his psicrystal to investigate; upon arriving it sends images and sounds to its owner. What he saw was curious; an apparently large, carnivorous looking, dinosaur fleeing a swiftly overtaking bank of fog. A rapid series of loud crackling bangs announced the launch of several long bolts of black lightning which quickly brought down the large reptile, the carcass immediately immolated by wispy black flames and quickly enveloped by the stygian smog.

Quietly awaiting the return of his psicrystal Sensei noted, _"This is twice I have seen the black flames, now it is black lightning; Elder Cousin will be most interested." _Out of curiosity he glanced into the derelict car beside him; surprised to see the remains of people within he opens the door to investigate. Although the flesh was long gone the skeletal remains were largely undisturbed making it easy to determine the driver had been an adult female with two children in the back seat. Finding the woman's driver's licence he examined it carefully, recognizing the name after some thought, _"They disappeared almost seventeen years ago driving home from visiting a friend one evening…they must have driven into a shadow vortex and of course not known how to leave...explaining this to the family and the authorities would be novel to say the least." _Occasionally weak spots in the dimensional wall between the Material and Shadow Planes would erupt, much like bubbles in boiling water. A vortex could pop on anywhere on the earth where shadows existed, even in daylight. Such vortices would have seen the likes of dinosaurs, automobiles and even aircraft pass through over the eons; or conversely, nightmarish creatures made of the shadow-stuff itself could exit to haunt reality, _"yes my dear Yori-chan, you did see a monster in your toy box that night when you were four…fortunately it was a small one." _A warm glow brought him back in the moment to realize his psicrystal had returned. Leaving the remains of the family and car as he found it, he stood up, his eyes scanning for the landmark he had been following. Realizing quickly the landmark was gone the traveller took another reading with the sextant; picking a new reference point to navigate by he resumed his journey.

Between the need to be stealthy, even in shadowy light conditions, and the inconvenience of constantly shifting terrain it took the elderly traveller almost three days to arrive at his destination. Along the way, not only did he have to be alert for the expected hazards of the shadow world now he had to look out for unusual phenomenon, the most curious and alarming being the discovery of a new very aggressive creature the likes of which Sensei had never seen. Usually emerging from one of the mysterious fog banks the creatures looked much like kangaroos with scales, the head somewhat larger, the generous mouth copiously lined with teeth; however, that there did not appear to be any arms was most noteworthy.

Arriving at the portal to his destination the Grandmaster of the Lotus passed quickly through. Turning to look up at the top of the round device he saw the likeness of a monkey engraved upon it in bas relief. This announced that this was the portal to the crystal sphere known as the Realm of the Monkey the eleven other spheres each having a similar structure identified in like manner with the name of a different animal. Looking to the side all he saw was blackness, _The Black_, a region of the Plane of Shadow that was nothing but the most intense black without a physical reference point anywhere, there being no coexisting Material Plane from any of the spheres in this region. Although technically connected to the Shadow Plane of all the realms even the hardiest and most skilled traveller would be hard pressed to navigate it on foot or in flight, risking eventual insanity and other corruptions within the toxic environment. However, even this environment had its denizens and there was the slim chance of recruiting one as a guide.

Turning away from the round construct Sensei's eyes lay upon a glowing blue pathway; although to say it radiated light might not have been precise since it almost seemed two dimensional, much like a line of white chalk on a blackboard. Neither could it be determined whether if it were road, bridge or merely suspended in the black as the traveller's eyes traced the arcane path to its destination countless miles away to what appeared to be a small moon, the Dodecagynian Cynosure.

-III-

The Amazing Rain Forest or, as a few individuals would refer to it, the Amazon Rain Forest; a place of innumerable tributaries and isolated hollows shrouded by the tropical canopy. One such place however, has always been overlooked by satellite and air photography alike; pilots of flights might at most notice a low lying area of land shrouded in fog even during high sun. To the inhabitants within fifty miles, this locale is referred to as The Black, one of those bubbles of the Plane of Shadow that never did get drawn back; its humanoid denizens known as Reavers.

Shamans of the surrounding tribes and clans all agree The Black has been around since beyond memory. The tortured testimony of those lucky to have escaped, tell of the sky replaced with a black nothingness, the treetops enveloped in darkness. The land itself seems to move of its own accord; trees and rocks are never in the same place twice; rapids and waterfalls appear where once a peaceful river flowed and all colour leached from everything leaving a stark world of black and white. The Reavers were corrupted caricatures of humans; resembling zombies they yet comported themselves with a lucid intelligence tempered with horrific cruelty, savage bloodlust and cannibalism. They would occasionally raid abroad at night, terrorizing and committing ghastly atrocities, collecting victims for whatever blasphemous rituals they partook in. Fortunately these raids were few and very far between; however, for a certain group of children the most recent stretch of 'between' was not far enough from the last one.

Within the Reaver encampment the tribe waited with eager anticipation for the climax of the ceremony being conducted by the shaman, entranced and inspired by his dark speech.

The litany, in a language that mortal tongues were not designed to utter conveyed the essence of pure evil. There were no words to express kindness, mercy, and purity; however one could speak of misery, anguish, hate, and betrayal with accuracy impossible in any other tongue. Learning it risked death, speaking it was like vomit on the tongue; its harshness inspiring fear, loathing and overwhelming despair.

The Reaver shaman cast his feral countenance upon the sacrifices before him, twelve innocents, children barely ten years of age. Their untainted souls were needed for what he had in mind, for such held great arcane power; reinforced with pain and fear they were that much more puissant. Although bound the little ones were not gagged allowing their whimpering and cries of fear and anguish to be uttered unhindered, creating a synergy of increasing dread; all that was needed now was pain.

Reaching into the stygian flames of the ceremonial fire, ignoring the third degree burns, the master of the foreboding ritual retrieved a fist-sized ball of obsidian and a large serrated dagger, both enveloped by searing wisps of black. A hoarse shouting of another word of darkness caused the children to wail anew in terror; with grisly eagerness the Reaver systematically skewered child after child with his dagger, each killing thrust immolating them and releasing a wisp of silver vapour that was drawn into the obsidian sphere. The shrieks of agony were greeted with hoots of approval from the spectators.

Feeling the pulse of power within the onyx crystal the shaman turns to another bound victim, a young teenaged girl. An acolyte approached with a potted orchid, the bloom still showing its delicate colouration even in this shadowy enclave. Sprinkling some pollen upon it the shaman places the sphere firmly against the girl's abdomen upon which a swirling void appeared. The sounds of rending flesh were audible as the churning black hole began devouring its human vessel. As this latest victim cried in fear and pain, a long column of greasy black vapour erupted from the mouth of the shaman, snaking directly into the swirling void, the remainder of the teenager's body following suit; the now dead body of the shaman collapsed to the ground.

As was their nature, the tribe of Reavers set upon the corpse of the shaman for a meal; the acolyte taking the time to claim the possessions. Among the curiosities was a map of the United States upon which a circle around Colorado was scratched in charcoal.


End file.
